Seperation Anxiety
by Katidid92
Summary: A mysterious Nightmaren child has appeared before NiGHTS and Reala to try to bring them together. The only problem is NiGHTS has disguised herself to do this. Meanwhile, Claris and Elliot face a problem of their own. Can they be together or can't they? Everyone seems to be separated from someone they love and it is painful to them all. This is set before JoD and after NiD.
1. Chapter 1

Updated on 07/30/12 I realized this story still has horrifying grammar and have cleaned it up again. I'll probably do so more in the future as well.

Updated on 03/14/2010. I've improved chapters 1-8 but I have yet to do the last chapter. There are a lot of changes to the story that I hope to complete in the three sequels (one of which I have yet to write).

Disclaimer: NiGHTS and all related Trademarks © Sega.

The Mystery Maren © Me. If you would like to use my OCs, please ask me first.

Chapter 1

NiGHTS sat on a hill in Spring Valley looking at the skies

That was when Claris and Elliot came over to her hand in hand.

"Hi, Claris. Hey, Elliot, how is the waking world at this moment?" The purple maren greeted her friends happily.

They came to Nightopia about two or three years ago.

Before that, NiGHTS had lived in Nightmare Castle in the other dream world Nightmare. Now she lived in the paradise dream world Nightopia.

She had previously worked for Wizeman the Wicked, Lord of All Nightmares.

Her job was to steal the five kinds of Ideya: Purity, Intelligence, Growth, Hope, and especially Courage. These were the lights that make up a human's heart and give them good dreams.

One day, a shard of an Ideya of Courage embedded itself into her chest, altered her Nightmarish thoughts, and allowed her to realize stealing dreams was wrong.

She fled Nightmare leaving behind her best friend Reala. Later on, she found out he received punishment in her stead gaining scars across his eyes.

He attacked her and sealed her in a gazebo like container called an Ideya Palace under Wizeman's orders having forgotten that friendship.

A hundred years later, Elliot and Claris freed her and helped her fight Nightmare from that point on.

Due to the fact it would destroy NiGHTS too, they still could not simply kill Wizeman because he created her.

On the present day, they finally had a break from their battles.

"Hi, NiGHTS. It's okay. nothing ever happens there as you know," Claris said.

Her pink hair had grown in the years since she started dreaming of Nightopia as opposed to a normal dream. It went down below her shoulders and matched her sparkling rose-colored eyes.

She had grown up to be quite a bit more serious and a lot less shy.

She first came to Nightopia when she failed an audition for singing in a concert. The Nightmaren seized upon her sadness and shyness putting her in a Nightmare version of the audition and stealing all her Ideya, but Courage.

After that, she ran blindly into Nightopia and found NiGHTS in the Ideya Palace.

NiGHTS told Claris the truth about dreams and what had happened to her. Then, she asked Claris for her help.

The girl did not know what to do but her hand to The Ideya Palace. NiGHTS did the same. The second they touched, they merged into one, literally.

As one, they went in search of The Ideya Capture to free the Ideya and return it to the hearts of humans.

After fighting three Nightmaren who formerly served directly under NiGHTS's command, the merge process (called Dualizing) was broken and two didn't find each other until just before the final confrontation with Wizeman.

"Well we do go on dates right?" Elliot said smiling at Claris who kissed him on the cheek.

Elliot had also matured a lot. He used to be quite blunt and sarcastic. He didn't care about anything except his friends and basketball. The blue haired boy played the sport all day.

One day as he showed off to his friends, an older boy named Roger came, grabbed the ball from him, and instantly thrust it into a hoop.

Elliot was humiliated and grieved the rest of the day.

That night, like Claris, the Nightmaren re-played the scene and stole all his Ideya, but Courage.

He fled and found NiGHTS, after another encounter with Reala, in an Ideya Palace.

This happened after Claris was lost and the two set out together once again.

The two took out her captor, though they didn't kill him and ventured on to the Nightopian City Twin Seeds. It was almost identical to the real world's Twin Seeds where Elliot and Claris lived.

As soon as they arrived, Wizeman sealed NiGHTS in an Ideya Palace once more. Elliot couldn't breakthrough it to Dualize with her.

The purple jester told him to jump from the building they were on and to rely on his Ideya of Courage. Doing as instructed, Elliot found himself flying through the skies just as he had when they were one.

Right nearby was The Ideya Capture. Elliot burst through it returning the orbs to their owners.

Now with his own heart complete, he tried to free NiGHTS again. He didn't have the strength to do it alone.

That was when Claris appeared from nowhere. After she had disappeared, her Ideya of Courage had been stolen. When Elliot had broken the capture, it returned.

She helped Elliot break the Ideya Palace and the two merged with their friend. NiGHTS was split into two bodies. One of the bodies was for Claris and the other was for Elliot. The process allowed them all to learn about one another and become stronger.

At that moment, Wizeman attacked. The three defeated him and the teens had helped stop his plans ever since.

Every time they went to sleep on Earth, or The Waking World, their dreams led them back here. Anyway, on this night the rebel Nightmaren had a question.

"Say, you two are going to start college soon right?" NiGHTS asked. She knew only Dreamers that were young could enter Nightopia. She needed to know when she would never see the two again.

"Yeah, NiGHTS, didn't you go to a Nightmaren school or something when you were our age?" Claris asked. The jester shook her head.

"Er not exactly. When Wizeman created me, I already knew everything I needed to know. So, I was pretty much born an adult," NiGHTS explained. Apparently, Nightmaren lived VERY different lives than humans. The girl thought she would at least have some-sort of similar childhood. It seemed now NiGHTS had never been a child in the first place.

"Nightmaren children might if there were any, but there hasn't ever been one. Wizeman made rules against love and thus, there has never been a Nightmaren child.

Look it at it this, way Wizeman (though I hate him) is 'technically' my father making me his child."

"So Wizeman just created each of you one by one. Didn't that take a while to do?" Elliot asked. That sounded very time-consuming even for a god.

"He created the third level Nightmaren all at one time, and the second level Nightmaren after that. Finally, he created Reala to control all of them." That still sounded like a lot of work but I bit less.

"Then, when were you created NiGHTS; a few years later?" NiGHTS used her trademark smirk of amusement.

"Actually only a few weeks later. None of them were listening to Reala, so Wizeman created me to help him." The thought of no one listening to someone as tough and frightening as the red maren must have been funny from her point of view.

"Were you really Reala's assistant, NiGHTS?" This time she looked down sadly.

"We were more like partners. Other than that... Uh... Let's change the subject. This is starting to depress me." Those memories of her friendship with Reala seemed so long ago. Though she hated to admit it, she missed them and Reala.

Now to him, she was nothing but a traitor. He probably didn't return the sadness and lonesome feelings. He only held hate and anger for her.

"Oh sorry. We know you don't like to talk about your past. Anyway, I am going to try to get into Bellbridge University. They have a great singing and music program," Claris said. Her bright rosy eyes shone bright with excitement.

Elliot frowned and said: "But I thought you were going to Twin Seeds College with me!"

Claris returned the frown.

Then suddenly out of character, Claris yelled at her boyfriend. "Elliot, do you care about my singing career!"

How could he not understand? She had dreams of her own.

"But TSC has a great basketball program! You're my girlfriend! You have to come with me!"

NiGHTS sat and watched her friends yell.

What was it with these humans and difficult decisions? This bothered her because she could not comprehend some things they could. That was because a they came from a very different world than the one she knew so well.

NiGHTS finally flew away and sat under a tree.

She hated seeing these kinds of things. It reminded her of the horrible fight she had with Reala when he sealed her in the Ideya Palace.

Finally, the memory could not hide itself anymore and a tear graced cheek.

To her own shock, a drop of light appeared from the tear and it seemed to swallow her. She looked around and found she was floating above a pool of water. All around her was shimmering gold light and in the center of the pool a yellow orb appeared.

NiGHTS looked into the orb's center from a close distance and found a yellow jester Nightmaren inside looking at her.

NiGHTS was about to speak when the strange Nightmaren did first.

"Why are you crying? You are the great hero NiGHTS aren't you? Wow! I've always wanted to try to call you that," she giggled. NiGHTS did not know what she meant at all by the last line.

She noted the maren bared a shocking resemblance to her. Even so, this maren was a lot smaller.

She hated to admit it, but she was somewhat cute looking. She looked like a doll or a small child. It gave her sweet and adorable appearence.

"W-who are you and where am I? I have never seen a Nightmaren as tiny as you are! NiGHTS asked very confused.

The little maren pulled quite a similar smirk of amusement onto her face. "Sorry, but I'm not allowed to say who I am. You are in a dream of your own though. On the other hand, my identity is classified information. In addition, you can't tell I'm a child even though I'm small," the yellow Nightmaren giggled again.

She most certainly was a child. That explained how small she was.

Adult Nightmaren had the physical height of a human twelve year old. As a result, this maren you could imagine looked more like a human three year-old size-wise in comparison.

"This isn't funny! Now tell me what's going on!" NiGHTS said again. The little girl smiled innocently.

"Why were you crying?" She asked again. The older Nightmaren noticed some sympathy shown in her turquoise eyes.

"Ugh, it just a bad memory, okay!" NiGHTS cried. This was getting a bit annoying.

"What was this memory about, anyway?" This kid was asking questions when she felt she should be giving answers.

"Uh, just a friend. Though he's no longer even my friend, and I am NOT saying anymore!" NiGHTS yelled.

"Go to see him. He needs you." She said with a wink.

"What? Why should I and who are you?" Go see Reala? Was the child insane? He would rip her to shreds if she did!

"One day you will know, but for now see you later, NiGHTS. He really does need you. I am not lying."

With that, NiGHTS found herself back under the tree in Spring Valley.

Claris and Elliot were giving her an awkward stare and it seemed both had been crying.

"What's wrong? Are you both alright?" NiGHTS asked. While she had been in that unusual vision, the fight must have gotten bad.

"Well, you were asleep and, Clar-" Elliot started. Claris covered his mouth with her hand.

"Don't talk to me, Elliot. I'm not in the mood," Claris said clearly mad at him. Things must have been worse than she thought.

"Guys, I need to sneak into Nightmare Castle," NiGHTS said shocking the teens. _'Why am I taking that child's advice? Who are her parents? Unless Wizeman created a young Nightmaren, which I doubt, there should be no adult maren allowed to have children,' _NiGHTS thought to herself.

"What? But why, NiGHTS! Why would you do something like this all of a sudden?" Elliot asked still shocked. His mind appeared to be somewhere else though.

"I don't know why myself but something tells me I need to see somebody. Let's go. We can reach Nightmare Castle by midnight if we hurry." NiGHTS took the teens hands in order to Dualize and fly to the castle faster.


	2. Chapter 2

Updated on 07/30/12 I realized this story still has horrifying grammar and have cleaned it up again. I'll probably do so more in the future as well.

Updated on 03/14/2010. I've improved chapters 1-8 but I have yet to do the last chapter. There are a lot of changes to the story that I hope to complete in the three sequels (one of which I have yet to write).

Disclaimer: NiGHTS and all related Trademarks © Sega.

The Mystery Maren © Me. If you would like to use my OCs, please ask me first.

Chapter 1

NiGHTS sat on a hill in Spring Valley looking at the skies

That was when Claris and Elliot came over to her hand in hand.

"Hi, Claris. Hey, Elliot, how is the waking world at this moment?" The purple maren greeted her friends happily.

They came to Nightopia about two or three years ago.

Before that, NiGHTS had lived in Nightmare Castle in the other dream world Nightmare. Now she lived in the paradise dream world Nightopia.

She had previously worked for Wizeman the Wicked, Lord of All Nightmares.

Her job was to steal the five kinds of Ideya: Purity, Intelligence, Growth, Hope, and especially Courage. These were the lights that make up a human's heart and give them good dreams.

One day, a shard of an Ideya of Courage embedded itself into her chest, altered her Nightmarish thoughts, and allowed her to realize stealing dreams was wrong.

She fled Nightmare leaving behind her best friend Reala. Later on, she found out he received punishment in her stead gaining scars across his eyes.

He attacked her and sealed her in a gazebo like container called an Ideya Palace under Wizeman's orders having forgotten that friendship.

A hundred years later, Elliot and Claris freed her and helped her fight Nightmare from that point on.

Due to the fact it would destroy NiGHTS too, they still could not simply kill Wizeman because he created her.

On the present day, they finally had a break from their battles.

"Hi, NiGHTS. It's okay. nothing ever happens there as you know," Claris said.

Her pink hair had grown in the years since she started dreaming of Nightopia as opposed to a normal dream. It went down below her shoulders and matched her sparkling rose-colored eyes.

She had grown up to be quite a bit more serious and a lot less shy.

She first came to Nightopia when she failed an audition for singing in a concert. The Nightmaren seized upon her sadness and shyness putting her in a Nightmare version of the audition and stealing all her Ideya, but Courage.

After that, she ran blindly into Nightopia and found NiGHTS in the Ideya Palace.

NiGHTS told Claris the truth about dreams and what had happened to her. Then, she asked Claris for her help.

The girl did not know what to do but her hand to The Ideya Palace. NiGHTS did the same. The second they touched, they merged into one, literally.

As one, they went in search of The Ideya Capture to free the Ideya and return it to the hearts of humans.

After fighting three Nightmaren who formerly served directly under NiGHTS's command, the merge process (called Dualizing) was broken and two didn't find each other until just before the final confrontation with Wizeman.

"Well we do go on dates right?" Elliot said smiling at Claris who kissed him on the cheek.

Elliot had also matured a lot. He used to be quite blunt and sarcastic. He didn't care about anything except his friends and basketball. The blue haired boy played the sport all day.

One day as he showed off to his friends, an older boy named Roger came, grabbed the ball from him, and instantly thrust it into a hoop.

Elliot was humiliated and grieved the rest of the day.

That night, like Claris, the Nightmaren re-played the scene and stole all his Ideya, but Courage.

He fled and found NiGHTS, after another encounter with Reala, in an Ideya Palace.

This happened after Claris was lost and the two set out together once again.

The two took out her captor, though they didn't kill him and ventured on to the Nightopian City Twin Seeds. It was almost identical to the real world's Twin Seeds where Elliot and Claris lived.

As soon as they arrived, Wizeman sealed NiGHTS in an Ideya Palace once more. Elliot couldn't breakthrough it to Dualize with her.

The purple jester told him to jump from the building they were on and to rely on his Ideya of Courage. Doing as instructed, Elliot found himself flying through the skies just as he had when they were one.

Right nearby was The Ideya Capture. Elliot burst through it returning the orbs to their owners.

Now with his own heart complete, he tried to free NiGHTS again. He didn't have the strength to do it alone.

That was when Claris appeared from nowhere. After she had disappeared, her Ideya of Courage had been stolen. When Elliot had broken the capture, it returned.

She helped Elliot break the Ideya Palace and the two merged with their friend. NiGHTS was split into two bodies. One of the bodies was for Claris and the other was for Elliot. The process allowed them all to learn about one another and become stronger.

At that moment, Wizeman attacked. The three defeated him and the teens had helped stop his plans ever since.

Every time they went to sleep on Earth, or The Waking World, their dreams led them back here. Anyway, on this night the rebel Nightmaren had a question.

"Say, you two are going to start college soon right?" NiGHTS asked. She knew only Dreamers that were young could enter Nightopia. She needed to know when she would never see the two again.

"Yeah, NiGHTS, didn't you go to a Nightmaren school or something when you were our age?" Claris asked. The jester shook her head.

"Er not exactly. When Wizeman created me, I already knew everything I needed to know. So, I was pretty much born an adult," NiGHTS explained. Apparently, Nightmaren lived VERY different lives than humans. The girl thought she would at least have some-sort of similar childhood. It seemed now NiGHTS had never been a child in the first place.

"Nightmaren children might if there were any, but there hasn't ever been one. Wizeman made rules against love and thus, there has never been a Nightmaren child.

Look it at it this, way Wizeman (though I hate him) is 'technically' my father making me his child."

"So Wizeman just created each of you one by one. Didn't that take a while to do?" Elliot asked. That sounded very time-consuming even for a god.

"He created the third level Nightmaren all at one time, and the second level Nightmaren after that. Finally, he created Reala to control all of them." That still sounded like a lot of work but I bit less.

"Then, when were you created NiGHTS; a few years later?" NiGHTS used her trademark smirk of amusement.

"Actually only a few weeks later. None of them were listening to Reala, so Wizeman created me to help him." The thought of no one listening to someone as tough and frightening as the red maren must have been funny from her point of view.

"Were you really Reala's assistant, NiGHTS?" This time she looked down sadly.

"We were more like partners. Other than that... Uh... Let's change the subject. This is starting to depress me." Those memories of her friendship with Reala seemed so long ago. Though she hated to admit it, she missed them and Reala.

Now to him, she was nothing but a traitor. He probably didn't return the sadness and lonesome feelings. He only held hate and anger for her.

"Oh sorry. We know you don't like to talk about your past. Anyway, I am going to try to get into Bellbridge University. They have a great singing and music program," Claris said. Her bright rosy eyes shone bright with excitement.

Elliot frowned and said: "But I thought you were going to Twin Seeds College with me!"

Claris returned the frown.

Then suddenly out of character, Claris yelled at her boyfriend. "Elliot, do you care about my singing career!"

How could he not understand? She had dreams of her own.

"But TSC has a great basketball program! You're my girlfriend! You have to come with me!"

NiGHTS sat and watched her friends yell.

What was it with these humans and difficult decisions? This bothered her because she could not comprehend some things they could. That was because a they came from a very different world than the one she knew so well.

NiGHTS finally flew away and sat under a tree.

She hated seeing these kinds of things. It reminded her of the horrible fight she had with Reala when he sealed her in the Ideya Palace.

Finally, the memory could not hide itself anymore and a tear graced cheek.

To her own shock, a drop of light appeared from the tear and it seemed to swallow her. She looked around and found she was floating above a pool of water. All around her was shimmering gold light and in the center of the pool a yellow orb appeared.

NiGHTS looked into the orb's center from a close distance and found a yellow jester Nightmaren inside looking at her.

NiGHTS was about to speak when the strange Nightmaren did first.

"Why are you crying? You are the great hero NiGHTS aren't you? Wow! I've always wanted to try to call you that," she giggled. NiGHTS did not know what she meant at all by the last line.

She noted the maren bared a shocking resemblance to her. Even so, this maren was a lot smaller.

She hated to admit it, but she was somewhat cute looking. She looked like a doll or a small child. It gave her sweet and adorable appearence.

"W-who are you and where am I? I have never seen a Nightmaren as tiny as you are! NiGHTS asked very confused.

The little maren pulled quite a similar smirk of amusement onto her face. "Sorry, but I'm not allowed to say who I am. You are in a dream of your own though. On the other hand, my identity is classified information. In addition, you can't tell I'm a child even though I'm small," the yellow Nightmaren giggled again.

She most certainly was a child. That explained how small she was.

Adult Nightmaren had the physical height of a human twelve year old. As a result, this maren you could imagine looked more like a human three year-old size-wise in comparison.

"This isn't funny! Now tell me what's going on!" NiGHTS said again. The little girl smiled innocently.

"Why were you crying?" She asked again. The older Nightmaren noticed some sympathy shown in her turquoise eyes.

"Ugh, it just a bad memory, okay!" NiGHTS cried. This was getting a bit annoying.

"What was this memory about, anyway?" This kid was asking questions when she felt she should be giving answers.

"Uh, just a friend. Though he's no longer even my friend, and I am NOT saying anymore!" NiGHTS yelled.

"Go to see him. He needs you." She said with a wink.

"What? Why should I and who are you?" Go see Reala? Was the child insane? He would rip her to shreds if she did!

"One day you will know, but for now see you later, NiGHTS. He really does need you. I am not lying."

With that, NiGHTS found herself back under the tree in Spring Valley.

Claris and Elliot were giving her an awkward stare and it seemed both had been crying.

"What's wrong? Are you both alright?" NiGHTS asked. While she had been in that unusual vision, the fight must have gotten bad.

"Well, you were asleep and, Clar-" Elliot started. Claris covered his mouth with her hand.

"Don't talk to me, Elliot. I'm not in the mood," Claris said clearly mad at him. Things must have been worse than she thought.

"Guys, I need to sneak into Nightmare Castle," NiGHTS said shocking the teens. _'Why am I taking that child's advice? Who are her parents? Unless Wizeman created a young Nightmaren, which I doubt, there should be no adult maren allowed to have children,' _NiGHTS thought to herself.

"What? But why, NiGHTS! Why would you do something like this all of a sudden?" Elliot asked still shocked. His mind appeared to be somewhere else though.

"I don't know why myself but something tells me I need to see somebody. Let's go. We can reach Nightmare Castle by midnight if we hurry." NiGHTS took the teens hands in order to Dualize and fly to the castle faster.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Reala glared at the stranger (NiGHTS in her disguise). She did not even glare back though.

"Who are you and trust me if you're here to kill me, you're outmatched."

She was quite lovely, but an opponent was an opponent nonetheless.

Another thing he did not notice was the way she stared at him. It looked like her heart would break.

She wanted something from him.

If he had seen it, his response would be, "I don't care for you or those feelings. The last time I did was the only time I ever will."

The female Nightmaren were always staring at him like this. He would never look at them the way he looked at the one he did look at that he felt hated him.

Even if she did return his feelings, it still wouldn't work. Their love would be star-crossed and that would be trouble.

He claimed it wasn't his fault but he also claimed it wasn't hers.

He tried not to think about it every day and night. As he would be about to sleep, it would enter his mind regardless.

Before I get off topic, I'll continue.

He was ready for a fight. In fact, he might have enjoyed it if not for what the stranger said. If he had been listening more carefully, he would have noticed the familiar, brave, and beautiful voice.

"I'm not here to kill you or do anything of the sort. I just want to know how I got here. I somehow just woke up here." The purple maren acted dumb. She figured it would be the best if she didn't reveal her identity yet.

It was actually fun playing stupid and she was good at it. Though it was not for the reason she wanted.

When she had served Wizeman, her creation was for a special reason other than just being Reala's partner. She was one of the only Nightmaren capable of stealing The Red Ideya of Courage. Thus, she had been an important asset to Wizeman' plans.

Her method of stealing Ideya involved lies. She would appear to a Visitor who would ask if she was a Nightmaren. She would then say: "No, I'm not one of those terrible creatures." When she convinced them of that fact, she would phase her hand into their body and pluck the orbs from their hearts.

Reala dropped his defenses and said: "Without a doubt, you're a freshly created Nightmaren. Does that mean our Master is out of temporary death and just created you?"

He knew Wizeman was in temporary death again. Could he have returned from death already? It seemed a little too soon. It was also quite rare that he created new Nightmaren.

This one didn't look worth much to him. How could this be a strong creation?

Then again, he had thought the same thing about the undisguised NiGHTS. Now, she would always win every battle they fought no matter what idea came to him.

He only fought her to make her return to Nightmare.

Without her, he had nothing but Wizeman. He wanted her but she didn't want Wizeman. Could it be she also didn't want to be around him either?

NiGHTS shook her head. "Who is this 'Master?' I woke up _here_ and that's all I know." Her acting still had him convinced. Reala did have dense moments like this, but they were very rare.

He had probably the highest IQ and common sense out of all the Nightmaren. The purple maren couldn't believe he was actually falling for this.

"You must have been born from darkness itself then. That does happen every now and again. Plus, not knowing our Master, you certainly are new. You came up right in the hallway of all places," he shrugged. He had to deal with new Nightmaren before so he knew how to talk to them.

Nightmaren were sometimes born from the darkness of Nightmare. It was as if they popped out of nowhere and to him this was no exception.

"Yes, where are we and who are we?" NiGHTS continued to play fool with him. She tried to be as convincing as she could. At this rate, the plan (though she hadn't thought it all the way through yet) might work.

"Well this is your home Nightmare Castle. I'm Reala and you do not have a name yet." He really was falling for it. Reala seemed so much less of a threat to her when he didn't recognize his enemy.

"I do not have a name?" She mimicked.

"No, you don't. Normally our Master (by the way his name is Wizeman) names us, but I guess since he's currently in temporary death you can choose your own name," He explained.

Reala was already growing bored with this. How long could it take to deal with this new maren?

"But I can't think of a nam. Can you think of one for me?" Now NiGHTS was just messing with him for the fun of it. She laughed inside because she loved pranks.

This was still more of a mission though.

"Uh let's see, what about... Lunamystica?" Reala mumbled not really thinking (or caring). It was just something that randomly popped in his head and sounded terrible.

"I love it! It's a beautiful name. Thank you!" NiGHTS whom for now we will call 'Lunamystica' said dancing around.

_'Okay now this is getting annoying. I won't have a cool sounding alias.'_ She would just have to deal with it until she re-gained the red jester's trust and could tell him who she was. After that, she had to find some way to get them both out of Nightmare Castle.

_'Strange visions and a new Nightmaren. What will happen next?'_ Reala thought. Mysterious things did seem to be happening a lot that night.

Speaking of night, it was probably about 1:00 am. Even though they were dreams, the Nightmaren _did _need to sleep. He was getting tired just thinking about it.

He had to work throughout this night though. One of Wizeman's rules was for his Nightmaren to stay up one night to get things done faster. Naturally, Reala as his right-han, and favorite Nightmaren, had to stay up every time that night came around.

"Um, do we live in this hallway?" He mentally slapped his forehead. Lunamystica was more naive than NiGHTS had been when Wizeman created her.

"No, we all have our own rooms. Since you don't have one yet I'll give you a spare for now." Reala led Lunamystica to a door that was quite dusty. Written on it were the words, "NiGHTS room."

This was where she had slept when she lived in Nightmare. Even though she disliked it, Lunamystica felt a bit nostalgic seeing her old home.

"Who is NiGHTS?" She read the sign of her former door.

"No one, Lunamystica. She's just a traitor. As soon as Master Wizeman wakes up, we're going to get rid of her. Now this room is a bit dirty since it has been a few years since it has been in use, but I can take care of that myself. Jackle, come here now!"

Lunamystica heard a cackle and soon enough, appeared a caped Nightmaren. He appeared to have no physical body other than his head. He wore gloves, boots, and a hat in addition to his cape. Other than that, he was a floating pile of laundry with a face.

"NiGHTS, are you really back home?" He may have looked stupid, but this time he was actually more intelligent than Reala.

He was a common prankster from how he looked. In actuality, he was much sharper than he appeared.

If it weren't for orders from Wizeman, he would probably still be one of NiGHTS's closest friends. She missed pulling jokes with Jackle. She missed spending time with Reala even more than that.

Reala punched Jackle on the head and said: "Jackle, you imbecile. This isn't NiGHTS. Her name is Lunamystica. She's the newest Nightmaren!" Yes, Reala _still_ didn't recognize her. It was hard to believe this was Reala. The one she missed more than anything in the world was so stupid.

"But she looks just like NiGHTS. I'll bet is she took off that Persona she'd." Reala punched him again. How stupid could he be?

NiGHTS remembered that he had trapped her in seven Ideya Palace's and had done nothing to keep Elliot and Claris from freeing her. He had repeated the plan a ton of times and never thought about the Visitors.

Perhaps if this fight between them continued, he would trap her in a cage and leave behind the keys with some helpless Nightmaren to guard them.

"She looks nothing like that traitor and you know we can't take off our Persona's. They are a symbol of loyalty to Master Wizeman." Now she knew that he could be both stupid and smart.

It was as if they were in a media franchise of some kind that the enemy never thought a plan through.

She could hear some random Nightmaren saying to Wizeman, "I don't think this plan was thought all the way through. You should have done so, master." She tried not to laugh at that thought.

"Oh yes. I forgot to thank you for reminding me that, Ree-Ree." Upon hearing Jackle call him that he was about to punch Jackle again but then he noticed Lunamystica looked afraid. Once again, he didn't realize she was acting and it was NiGHTS in that outfit tricking him.

Therefore, he asked her, "Are you alright, Lunamystica?"

Stupid beyond belief...

"You're not going to hurt him are you?" Reala was amazed. For a new Nightmaren, she cared about others she barely knew.

She wasn't a new Nightmaren, stupid! He was smart he just did not pay attention and think!

"No, Lunamystica, I won't hurt him. I am sorry, Jackle. Can you use one of your cards to fix up NiGHTS bedroom? It will now belong to Lunamystica." Now she would be stuck in her old bedroom... Great... If the plan worked, she wouldn't have to worry about staying there, but for now she was stuck.

"Uh sure," Jackle took out his cards, the five of hearts. He threw it and closed the door. When he opened it, again it was a beautiful classy room.

It looked just like it did before she rebelled.

Jackle didn't have an original mind and Reala was just dense that night. She fought off the desire to face-palm.

"Welcome, Lunamystica, we're glad to have you," Jackle said. Now he didn't believe she was NiGHTS either. That was a good thing in a way.

"Thank you," she said smiling. When Reala saw her smile, he suddenly felt nostalgic. She reminded him of someone, but whom? NiGHTS!


	4. Chapter 4

08/05/12: I cleaned up this chapter quite a bit more.

NiGHTS and all related trademarks (C) Sega and Sonic Team

Chapter 4

While Reala showed "Lunamystica" around and so on, Claris and Elliot were still waiting in Spring Valley for NiGHTS to come back.

Elliot climbed up on top of a tree branch and looked at the sky. There was nothing purple in sight. He climbed back down again and walked up to Claris "There is no sign of NiGHTS yet."

They were alone together; neither enjoyed it in any way.

Elliot wanted Claris to go to his college. He believed they would lose touch with one another if they went to different schools.

If he enrolled in TSC by himself and joined the basketball team, he would become a star player, he was certain of that fact.

Without a girlfriend around, the other players would probably rag on him. Plus, girls would be swooning over him and he would have to turn them down or face a long distance wrath from Claris.

He didn't want any of those things to happen. He wanted Claris.

Right then, the one he loved was angrier with him than she'd ever been. This was the worst fight they'd ever had. The poor boy wasn't sure how to make up with her.

He could get another girlfriend, but that girl wouldn't be like Claris. He wouldn't have met her in his dreams, she wouldn't believe in Nightopia, and she would never know what it was like to fly as one with him and NiGHTS.

It was the most incredible experience he had ever felt in his entire life. It was the same feeling with Claris. Another girl would never understand.

He wanted only the rosey-eyed girl in his life.

"Well, she could be there for days for all we know," Claris said turning away. She wanted to be with Elliot. She wanted to stay with him more than anything in the entire world, but they had different dreams in both reality and sleep.

Though in the dream world they really saw each other, they were dreaming separately and not in the same self-conscious mind.

In reality, he dreamed of being a star basketball player. She dreamed of being a professional singer.

They both had to make paths to their goals not just one road.

He needed a basketball program that could get him on a professional team. She needed a strong music program that would get her recognition. If they both got those things, they could get strong contracts to fulfill their greatest wishes.

Unfortunately, that meant they would be apart for a long time and be very busy. They would rarely see each other until their dreams came true.

She believed they could wait for each other for that long. Elliot didn't want to wait because he wanted to be with her as always. She couldn't blame him for such a thing.

Even though this was true, why was she acting so cruel to him?

She wanted him to understand they could be together later.

He would be a famous basketball player and have her, a popular singer, as his girlfriend. Maybe one day they would even get married!_ 'I wonder what it would be like to have the name Claris Edwards? Claris Sinclair causes a lot of fun to be poked at me because of how it sounds.' _

In truth,"Elliot Edwards" wasn't a much better of a name.

(A.N. Forgive me for poking fun at their names. I would hate it if my given name sounded so much like my family name. What was Sega thinking when they chose Claris's and Elliot's names?

Though... I'm probably worse off... I have a two-part first name, two middle names, and two last names... ^^;

On the topic of names, apparently, Will Taylor's name was originally going to be "Kevin." I'm glad they changed it because for some reason I can't stand the name Kevin.

Maybe I don't like that name because of Ed, Edd, and Eddy. I know that the three title characters were a bit annoying, especially Eddy, but I always hated Kevin more than them. I do like the cartoon though.

Plank, I love you!

Wow... I'm getting way off track in this author's note...)

Though... I'm probably worse off... I have a two-part first name, two middle names, and two last names... ^^;

"Why are you so upset; is it just because you have to come with me?" She shot a glare as he wiped out her thoughts of their future.

They could truly become one if he would just get it through his thick skull that they wouldn't be apart forever. Why didn't he get it!? She had to make him understand.

If she didn't go to BBU, she wasn't going to be able to follow her dreams out of sadness and pain.

"ELLIOT, I DO NOT HAVE TO GO WITH YOU! DON'T YOU GET IT, I DON'T BELONG TO YOU!" She yelled at the top of her lungs. Elliot looked away.

Claris was his girlfriend. She had to come with him, right? She wanted him to wait, but he didn't. He wanted her then and forever. He couldn't be apart from her for so long! If he was separated from her, he'd probably kill himself because of the anxiety he'd feel. He wanted her and she wanted him so, how could she try to separate them?

"You do still love me don't you!" Elliot said facing her again. Maybe that was it. She wanted to break-up with him and find some other person at her college. W

hat would he do if Claris didn't love him anymore? If it was true... He shook the thought from his mind.

"I don't know if I do now, but I did, now leave me alone!" Claris said walking away.

Elliot sat down under the tree and cried. He cried for what seemed like hours.

She was crying herself on the other end of Spring Valley. They couldn't communicate their feelings anymore. Maybe they never would feel the same way about each other ever again.

Suddenly, an item appeared in front of her.

"Elliot, something weird is over here!" Elliot ran for Claris because he thought she meant something bad had appeared and she was in danger.

When he saw what she had found, his mouth dropped like a drawbridge. A door, a wooden door, was right in the middle of the field.

"You built a door here for what reason?" he asked. He was clueless. There weren't any tools for that here... unless she had a Nightopian conjure them up for her... (How did they pull all those items of theirs from thin air?) He did not see any cutdown trees and did she even know how to make a door?

Claris lived a wealthy life in the suburbs of Twin Seeds. She had probably never set a finger on a hammer.

Her father was a painter whose masterpieces hung in museums around the world. Elliot lived with his mother, a florist, in a tiny apartment at the cities center. He was always doing chores and other types of things to fix up their home because the property owner didn't and his father wasn't around.

"I didn't, you idiot. It just magically appeared here." A door appearing in Nightopia wasn't too out of the ordinary. The Night Dimension was full of unusual things. Everyone has strange dreams sometimes and this was probably no different.

_'Yes, she is still mad at me. Ugh! This is not fair! She won't listen to me at all!'_ He thought. Did she have to go to BBU and not come with him? Fighting like this would solve nothing.

"Where do you think it came from?" she had temporarily forgotten the argument and focused on the door.

"I don't know, but this is weird beyond belief." Just then, the door opened and a whitelight surrounded them. They looked around as they fell through violet clouds and rainbow colored lights.

"Why did you open the door, you idiot!" Claris yelled as she fell. Elliot hadn't done so. It had opened on its own. Things were certainly getting stranger.

"Hey I didn't open it! Ugh we're about to hit the ground!" Both teens braced for the impact, but as they thought they were doomed, their feet gently touched the ground.

"Well, I am glad that is finally over with." He joked. Things couldn't have turned out so well, but he guessed it was sheer luck.

"It would never have happened if you had not opened that stupid door!" Claris accused him again.

"I did not and would you just stop yelling at me so I can figure this out!?" Elliot looked around they were in a large new looking courtyard. They seemed to be in what looked like a park. There was a big fountain in the center with sparkling water. "Wow this place is kind of romantic right?"

"We are NOT discussing this now, so be quiet." It was like they were never in love to begin with. Both of them wanted to work things out, but they didn't know how to do so. They were so upset and thus, they argued with each other over every little thing. They didn't know any other way to act and it was causing them both pains.

"Do you think this could be part of a Nightopia?" Elliot wondered. He knew this wasn't Nightmare. It was the only other dream world. Nightopia had so many sectors and all of them were so different. For example, Spring Valley was a meadow filled with hills and flowers, while Stick Canyon was a dried up desert with unusual and dangerous machinery.

"You two Visitors are most certainly correct." Both looked up to see something they had never seen, even after all the weird dreams they had. A talking owl was in front of them. This was a strange thing. They had seen fewer strange things than this.

"Y you can really talk in our language!" Elliot said. He was amazed. The only other race there he could understand were Nightmaren because they spoke in English. They had an accent very similar to a British one though and the Nightopians words only sounded like gibberish to him.

The only two Nightopians that spoke English that he knew of were Snuze and Napp. Those two had helped him, NiGHTS, and Claris in the past. Snuze acted like a guide and partner for Elliot and it was the same thing with Claris and Napp.

"Yes, Visitor. Anyway, welcome to this Nightopia," the Owl said. Claris guessed he must be quite knowledgeable.

That meant he was like one of her obnoxious teachers though. They endlessly spouted their wisdom and knowledge to the point you wanted to strangle them. In video games she played, there were sometimes actual owls doing this as well.

(I.E. Kaepora Gaebora.)

"So this is another one... but why did it appear now?" Elliot asked. He thought each Visitor in Nightopia had their own sectors created for them.

Claris's dream world included Spring Valley as a representation of her father, or ideal. It was identical to a painting he had drawn. The reason Claris had entered the audition two years ago was because of who her father was using her talent was expected of her. In that case, it was singing.

Elliot in turn dreamed of Splash Garden for his own reasons.

"Yes. Well, occasionally new Nightopia's appear especially designed for Visitors to share, and I am in charge of them." The Owl was in charge of these kinds of dreams? What was so special about this world in particular? Elliot knew he and Claris shared The Dream World Twin Seeds, but it didn't make sense how their dreams united in that place. So was this dream like that?

"This dream acts as a bridge leading to new ones. This one does this not only for you two but it does for new Visitors as well." Other Dreamers had come here? It was possible more dreamers would be here after the teens as well.

"So how do we get out of here exactly?" Elliot asked. He wanted to go back to Spring Valley.

If NiGHTS returned to find them gone, she would be worried. They needed to be where NiGHTS was because without her they were defenseless. Nightmaren could easily steal their Ideya without her help.

"Why just go through one of those doors, but over time you will be sent back here," The owl said gesturing at the doors. This didn't seem right at all.

"But why would we be sent back here? Our friend is waiting for us in Spring Valley!" Claris demanded. How could they leave NiGHTS alone? Not only did she protect them, if Reala put her in an Ideya Palace again, she would need their Ideya to break through it. They had to put the glowing orbs on the pillars to free her from it or the purple jester could only leave for about five minutes before forcibly going back into the gazebo.

"Because, your dreams are changing as you grow," he continued his explanation. The Owl was getting MORE annoying every second they spoke to him.

"What? But why would that happen?" the girl asked again. This was getting more confusing every minute. She didn't get it, but Elliot knew exactly what he meant.

"He means we're growing up and no longer need as much time here, Claris. How much time do we have left?" Elliot asked. The two realized that soon they would no longer be able to enter Nightopia. When that happened, that meant no more flying, no more NiGHTS, and if they didn't make up it meant no more love.

"Well, I would say about..."


	5. Chapter 5

Edited on August 14, 2012. I've done major edits to this story and will probably do so more in the future.

Chapter 5

After her tour of Nightmare Castle, led by Reala and Jackle, Lunamystica went to her room and sat on the bed. She peeled her Persona off her face and looked at her violet-sapphire eyes in a vanity.

Her face was as it always was. It held her blue-purple cat-like eyes and undefined mouth. Her face lacked a nose and her head was perfectly round. If she were to take off her hat you'd see her long golden hair and the fact she had no visible ears..

In this disguise some of those strands of hair came out from her hat. It was mostly the bangs and the hair in front of slender shoulders that appeared. The hair behind her head came out of the hat from the back of it.

She really _did_ look beautiful in this outfit.

Nevertheless, this wasn't her. This was Lunamystica: a fake version of NiGHTS hiding the real one.

Why would she disguise herself in such a way? It was because a strange vision she had told her to go see Reala. She didn't know if the vision had been real, but she followed the instructions given to her anyway.

Then, she remembered it said NOTHING about disguising herself.

She felt like she was seducing the red jester and not trying to become his friend again.

Just a friend? Did she want him more than that?

What a strange feeling stirred inside her heart when she thought of him. It wasn't the same feeling as her friendship with Claris and Elliot. The emotion felt similar to sadness. It was almost like a longing of some kind. But what was she longing for? Reala... What did she want from him?

"I never thought I'd wear one of these again. I hate it. Next to that, I am still trying to understand that peculiar vision. In addition to everything else, how am I going to get myself out of here let alone Reala! What was I thinking; I'm trapped!" She put the Persona back on her face and slumped down in a chair. "How am I going to tell him who I really am?"

Then another bright light emitted and she was above the pool again.

"Just lovely... Why is this happening now of all times? Wait a minute! This is my chance to figure this out." She flew around searching for that young Nightmaren.

This put more questions in her mind. The child had a shocking resemblance to her. Why did they look so much alike?

She noted that something seemed different though. The little maren's eye color wasn't like hers. It was turquoise that leaned a bit more to a icy blue color.

The hue was similar to...

She shook the thought from her mind. That couldn't be true. It would never happen in a million years.

"NiGHTS, come talk to me again please," the strange little Nightmaren called. Lunamystica approached her and she said: "Hello, NiGHTS or should I say Lunamystica?" Once again, she used a very cute smile when she spoke.

Her cheeks were a bit more rosy than the purple jesters too. This was probably because she was young. She looked like NiGHTS, but she looked more like her as if she was a child. Her reddish cheeks were a sign that she hadn't fully matured physically yet.

NiGHTS looked at her outfit. Her clothes weren't a mix between a jester and a soldier like her own. Her outfit more looked like a jester crossed with some sort of cyber mage.

It reminded her of a Manga she'd seen Claris reading. What was that called? Oh yes! Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha.

It starred a young girl who was a mage, but unlike something out of the middle ages, it was more technology and futuristic based.

This girl's outfit was a similar fashion. She wore an orange-yellow vest that went inward towards the bottom roundly and extended out again. It had gold trim with, a round matching button on top, and two on the bottom.

Her sleeves were short and bell shaped in a mix of yellow and orange. Extending from these sleeves were additional silky looking yellow ones which formed a v cut at the front.

On her hands were yellow, stiff, fingerless gloves.

Her waist held a piece of clothing quite difficult to describe. It was almost like a topless purple leotard with two long pieces of cloth covering sticking straight out sideways. If she moved or flew, they would retain their stiff shape.

Below this were yellow leggings.

On her feet were shoes that looked rather technological. They were yellow with orange tips, purple heels, and a metal plate on the top front. The top of the shoes opened up in front and the metal plate joined the two pieces together on the end of where they split

Finally, across her chest was an unusual blue stone. It was similar to a rounded sapphire but it wasn't as transparent. It shone very bright though. It obviously wasn't an Ideya Shard, but it did seem to have some sort of magical quality.

She certainly wouldn't have been created by Wizeman wearing an outfit like that. He didn't allow bright colors such as this mixed with clothing like that.

I'm getting off topic again. So, now I'll get back to the story.

"Whoever you are, can't you just leave me alone! Because of you I'm stuck in Nightmaren Castle, my least favorite place of all!" NiGHTS yelled. She felt a bit guilty about it afterwards when she saw the little maren wince. Then she thought it was her own fault she was here. After all, she could have ignored her advice.

"Well, I guess you do not want any answers then." Apparently, the child had recovered from the yell and used NiGHTS's trademark smirk again.

Not only did she look similar to NiGHTS, she acted the same way too. It was almost like the little girl was a younger version of herself.

She wanted to know so badly who and where the maren came from, in addition to why she was here.

"I guess I'll give you some answers anyway. So, ask away." She winked with her bright smile. The older Nightmaren swore for a split second she wasn't as bright and cheerful as she seemed. In the back of her mind, she thought she had seen worry and loneliness.

Was the girl alone and was she in trouble? It wasn't her business and she doubted the child would tell her and so, she didn't ask.

"Can you explain to me who you are and why you are here?" That was the first thing and most important thing she wanted to know. Listening carefully, she identified she was a soprano by her very high voice.

That kind of vocal range was good for singing but that didn't matter at the moment. Did it even matter how well she could sing at all?

Claris was a soprano too and could probably sing far better.

"I am here to help you head towards a better future. I will not give you my name because it is highly classified information." Those were big words for such a little child. She must have been pretty smart to have such a sophisticated vocabulary.

"Why not? Are you working under someone?" NiGHTS wondered if she had been sent here by someone with rules that prevented her from telling her certain things.

"No, I came here of my own free will. I wasn't allowed to come to this time era. And yet, I knew I needed to." Time era? As in she could travel through time?

"Let me see if I have this straight. Do you come from the past or future?" She wondered which direction in time she came from.

"Yes, you're right. I am from the future. We're out of time. You need to wake up right now." NiGHTS felt herself being gently shook.

...

"Lunamystica, open your eyes. Are you okay?" Lunamystica opened her eyes to see Reala. If he knew who she was, he would have hurt her and would not have been gentle in any way. This proved he still didn't know her true identity. Once again, she would have to play fool with him no matter how cruel it seemed.

"Yes. I'm fine I just had a bad dream." A bad dream? Reala thought of the one from earlier that night.

It didn't seem bad, but something about the child in it seemed off. He knew the girl. He didn't know how, but something was familiar about her.

Had he met her before? He knew he hadn't met her, but then how did he remember her? He wasn't told of her by ear, he knew that much. Could Lunamystica also have seen such a strange dream? He couldn't ask her so he didn't.

"Okay then. I'm going to show you some combat moves, okay?" He would have to go easy on her seeing as she had never fought in her life.

It reminded him of how he had trained NiGHTS to battle as well.

Of course, now that she was an enemy, it had backfired on him. She _always_ beat him in battle now. He was physically stronger but the purple jester used her wits to beat him.

Maybe if he thought of what he was doing more than fighting he could beat her. He couldn't. Wizeman would never allow it.

"Combat moves? Why would I need to learn such things?" the _fake_ new maren cocked her head in _false _confusion. Reala wasn't going to figure this out any time soon. Even though the facial features were the same, he didn't pay enough attention to notice.

"I you're going to work for Master Wizeman, you must know how to fight. After all, this war isn't going to fight itself."

"Wa? We're in a war?" The playing dumb still continued.

"Yes, but we are the ones who are on its right side. I'll explain more later. Now let's go to the training room." Reala led Lunamystica down a hallway and into a large room that had weapons and all sorts of armory. "You shouldn't be learning to use weapons seeing as you can fly so I'm going to teach you some flying skills."

"Okay. What should I learn first?" Why couldn't he figure it out?

"Well, first you must learn the drill dash it's pretty basic. Are you ready to start?" Reala asked.

"Yes, I think I am."

_Time Skip: Two hours Later._

Reala sat on the floor of the training room and said: "You picked that up faster than any Nightmaren I have ever seen. It is as if you have done all of those move before." He_ definitely_wasn't going to realize who she was any time soon.

"Really? That's kind of strange. Am I really that good at this?" She had known all those attacks for years. He didn't even recognize her fighting style was no different from anyone else's'.

"Yes, you have great talent. As soon as Master Wizeman comes out of temporary death, he will make you a first level Nightmaren in rank without a doubt." She was already a first level Nightmaren. She and Reala were the only ones as far as she knew.

That child from her dream seemed like she was a high level, but was she a first level like the other two?

"We have levels?" Who knew by playing dumb she may learn things she didn't know. Maybe Wizeman had come up with new and more advanced items since she rebelled.

"Yes there are levels The third level is the lowest in rank. Those on it aren't very skilled. Then there is the second level. That level is for those that are highly skilled and they handle all the attack plans. That's a strange rank because Jackle is the captain." Jackle was captain? Now that was a new and shocking thing to learn. He didn't seem like he could lead the others.

"He is only in charge of the first set of Second Level Nightmaren. Master Wizeman is currently working on a second set. Jackle is still a strange one for a captain."

A second set of Level Two Nightmaren? That wasn't a good thing at all. That meant NiGHTS would have plenty more enemies. If that happened, she would be in big trouble.

She thought about what would happen if they caught her quite soon.

She could sense Claris's and Elliot's presences in Nightopia beginning to fade. Without the teens, there would be no hope for her or Nightopia.

"How is that so strange?" she asked trying to ignore the thought.

"Uh well, let's just say Jackle's schemes, on occasion have been… well… disturbing. Finally, there is the top rank of First Level Nightmaren. This level is for the best of the best. I'm on this level and I serve as Master Wizeman's right hand alone, seeing as I am the only one." Of course he was alone now that she was a rebel.

"Wouldn't there be others on that level too?" She knew there wasn't now, but maybe Wizeman was working on a new Level One Nightmaren. She certainly hoped not.

"Yes, there was one before. Nevertheless, she is now a traitor now. So you may just as well be her replacement To tell the truth, we're lucky since you just showed up like this." NiGHTS grew angry at that comment, but she still had to play the guise of Lunamystica. She hated it, but she decided to make herself more like a weakling than ever.

"You mean I am just a replacement? Nothing more than a copy and I have no other real reason to be here?" Lunamystica said. A fake face trying to hold back tears covered her eyes.

"No! I don't mean that at all!" Reala exclaimed. Her acting was growing more believable than ever.

"You do mean it. I'm nothing compared to any of you! I just wanted a friend and you say I mean nothing!" Lunamystica flew out of the room crying.

_'I'm not me anymore! I'm a coward and a crybaby!' _She could even fake flowing tears perfectly. It was no wonder Reala was falling for this plan.

She didn't want to trick him anymore.

...

"Oh that was smooth. Just like the LAST time, you drove another one away." Jackle said coming in the room after witnessing the scene.

_'Those tears were fake... NiGHTS, why are you here?' _Jackle knew, but he wouldn't admit it. He secretly still wanted to be NiGHTS friend and wouldn't blow her secret. He wasn't in love with her, They were just friends.

He knew what Reala felt and seeing as the caped maren was his younger brother, he would watch over him.

"Not now, Jackle. I have to go after her!" Reala said trying to get out of his way. Even though he was the younger one, Jackle was a bit larger than him. In other words, he could easily block the red jester's path.

"Don't worry about her. I'm sure she'll be just fine after being alone for a while."

"Is there anything else you'd like to say? If it's something stupid I will smack you." Reala said a little angry with his little brother. _More like a little annoyance._

"No, nothing at all, lover-boy. I hope it works out unlike the _last_ time." That was the last straw. Reala was mad. Jackle knew he had overdone it. Jackle's jokes were sometimes pulled at bad times and this was one of them.

"That does it, Jackle! Now, I'm going to kill you!" The crimson maren said. He slowly approached with his arms ready to strangle the other's invisible neck.

"Maybe this time I went a little too far. Reala, please it was just a joke." It was too late. He lunged at the caped Nightmaren, who cried out for no one to hear.

…

Reala sat on his throne again and stared at the ceiling, "I went a bit too far this time... Who knows how long Jackle will be in the infirmary? I guess I will apologize to him later. Right now there is someone who needs one first." Reala flew down the hall to Lunamystica's room and knocked on the door.

Lunamystica (it was not very noticeable because of her Persona) eyes red from crying opened it and stared. Of course she had put on make-up to make her eyes look red. but he didn't notice. "Lunamystica, what I said back there was cruel. Can you forgive me? I apologize sincerely."

Reala was an idiot, but he was (at least she wished it so) her idiot.

"Reala… I understand, and I do forgive you." She didn't know how much longer she could stand this disguise. She meant that both mentally and physically. The spell she had used to create her new clothes was temporary and would only hold until her powers to manage it gave in.

"Thank you. I just didn't want this to turn out like the last time." This was something she didn't know. What did he mean? She had to ask.

"What do you mean by 'the last time' did something happen like this before?" Reala remained quiet, but finally answered.

"NiGHTS... the traitor... She was once my closest friend. I had special feelings for her. When she rebelled, She broke my heart. In my rage, I attacked her, I drove her away to the point she hated m I don't want that to happen again." He _did_ care about her. She couldn't believe it! Reala did return her feelings.

She re-analyzed what he said in her head. Now he didn't care about only held those feelings for Lunamystica now.

"I'm sorry, Reala; I don't know what else to say." _'It isn't me! Why can't you love me and not a fake!? I'm not Lunamystica! Can't you see that!? I'm NiGHTS!' _She wanted to tell him. Now she felt that if she did, she'd only hurt him all over again.

That settled it. As soon as he left, she would find away to leave Nightmare all alone. She couldn't do this to him any longer.

_'I do not hate you at all, Reala. I am so sorry I hurt you and now that I'm doing this, it will only happen again.'_ Lunamystica thought. She felt so cruel. There was no other way out of this situation. She must do this or she'd never forgive herself for trying to seduce him.

"Promise me you won't tell anyone about that. I don't want anyone but you to know I felt that way." Of course she would keep it a secret! Wizeman would kill them both if he knew such a thing!

"I promise I won't tell. Reala, it's our secret." She would keep knowing his feelings a secret forever. She knew he wanted her, but it could never happen no matter how much they wished it.

"Thank you. It's getting late I had better get to bed." Reala began to fly off. The night was almost over and thus, he could finally get some sleep.

"Okay. I will see you tomorrow, Ree." She missed that name. While she lived in Nightmare, she had called him that almost all the time.

"Ree?" he questioned. It was so nostalgic to hear that nickname. Only one other person had ever called him by that name.

"Can I call you that?" she asked. It would be the last time she could, but she wanted to ask anyway.

"Uh... You can call that if you really want to," Reala said. A saddened expression was on his face and he flew down the hallway and out of sight.


	6. Chapter 6

Edited on August 14, 2012. I've made improvements and alterations to this chapter and will probably do more in the future.

Chapter 6

Elliot kicked a rock on the cobblestone pathway. He could see Claris a few feet away sitting under a tree.

They no longer had their collage issues to worry about. They were more concerned about other things.

First of all, according to the owl (who knows where he went), this would be their last night in Nightopia.

Would NiGHTS find them in time to say goodbye forever?

They both knew she could never come to see them in The Waking World because everyone would think she was a monster or something.

She could get caught by the government and be mistaken for some kind of alien. Then they would probably run experiments on the purple jester and possibly even dissect or kill her by some other means. The possibilities were terrible and endless.

In addition to that, NiGHTS could not survive in the human world for even day either. If only they had not learned that the hard way.

The first time the friends defeated Wizeman, NiGHTS nearly died because it had been too much for her.

To save her life, Snuze and Napp told them to make their Ideya of Courage stronger by fulfilling their dreams. The two did and became slightly more famous in Twin Seeds.

It saved NiGHTS's life but their dreams became so strong she was thrown into The Waking World by flying through Nightopia's version of Twin Seeds Tower into the real one. That entire day their friend was thrown into one predicament after another before Elliot and Claris could track her down.

As the hours went by, dream energy slowly seeped out from her body.

Things only grew worse when Reala possessed a bully they knew all too well, Roger. He trapped NiGHTS in the bully's basement.

They arrived just as the purple jester was about to die and barely managed to save her life and return her to The Night Dimension.

The Nightopians explained that NiGHTS lived off dream energy and could not survive without it because it was like a human's air. There was no such thing in their world and thus, NiGHTS was slowly starved of life.

Getting back to the present time, Elliot could not sit around and do nothing. He had to talk to Claris. Would she listen this time?

He couldn't lose her now that all this was happening. The boy had fewer close friends now that he spent so much time with her. If he didn't get the real Claris, _his_ Claris, back he would be lonelier than he had ever been.

Elliot couldn't find another girl like her. He wanted Claris. He needed her in his life.

The sapphire haired boy had no choice.

Now he knew sacrificing Claris's dreams for his own was wrong. They could never be happy together if she didn't fulfill her own happiness first. She didn't deserve to lose what she had wanted her entire life. He walked up to her and asked: "You really do have your own dream don't you?"

"Elliot, we all have our own path to follow and mine isn't going through TSC…." Elliot realized that the old Claris had finally come back to him. Sadness and guilt filled him now more than ever. He knew the real Claris was the one saying this smd not the girl he thought had been angry with him.

She was never angry with him, she was upset and worried. That was why she had reacted to him in the way she had. The rose-haired girl wanted to give him what he wanted. She wanted to have her own dream delights too though.

"Do you really want to go to, BBU?" Elliot was certain she did but he asked anyway. He knew if she said yes they would still be separated. Elliot would be in TSC for at least four years.

He didn't know a lot about collage singing programs but it was probably just as long. They would be far apart for so long.

Bellbridge was in another country nearby. It was unbelievably far from Twin Seeds. That large eco-friendly city was where they had lived their whole lives. They had met in their dreams, but in that dream it was a vision of Twin Seeds. It was their home and always would be, even if Claris was far away.

"Yes, I do want to go there more than anything. Can you finally understand that?" the girl asked in return. She wanted him to wait for the time they could be together. She knew she could postpone their love until they could be together again.

"Yes I get it now. Go there and make your own dreams come true," Elliot said smiling. Claris looked up, tears formed in her eyes, and she hugged Elliot. He finally understood. The girl understood him now too. They had finally regained their connection and understanding of each other. As he held her, her rosy eyes shone with happiness.

"Thank you so much, Elliot. I love you!" She said happily. Everything was back to normal at long last. Elliot was crying as well because he was happier than he had ever been. He wanted that moment to last forever.

The two kissed softly and continued to embrace. They could be together forever after all.

Then he thought of something. It bothered him.

"But how are we supposed to see each other if we are so far away?" Elliot still wanted to see Claris at least sometimes. Even if they weren't in the same area, he needed to see her at least on rare occasions.

"We can, handle a long distance relationship, can't we?" the girl said again. He frowned.

"But I've never been in a long distance relationship," the boy said. He didn't see how this kind of thing worked since he knew nothing about it.

"We can write letters, send e-mail, we can talk on a phone or on a video chat to see each other's faces, and we can get together on breaks from school or on Holidays," the pink haired girl explained. Elliot finally understood. This was going to work out after all.

"You're right we _can_ do this Claris. Everything will be surely all right. Now are we going to sit around and mope or are we going to see everything in this last part of Nightopia?" He smiled brightly with a new hope burning inside him.

Since they were only here for this last night they would make the best of it _together._

"Right! Let's go, I want to see what it looks like too." They agreed on things again. They freed each other from their hug and ran off hand-in-hand.

...

Reala was in bed trying to fall asleep when for the millionth time the bright light emitted.

This time, he was ready to talk to the yellow Nightmaren. He approached her now that he had gotten used to this happening.

This time, he got to speak first, "Are you going to tell me who you are now or not? Why are you here in the first place?" he asked again.

The child shrugged, but smiled. He could still see a worry of sorts in her eyes. What troubled this girl and did it have to do with why she appeared to him? He didn't know and he wanted answers.

"Sorry, it's classified information. I can't give you any specific details. I can give you a clue though. I have something to do with you and NiGHTS. As for why I came here, it is to give you hints that will help you reach a better future." That explanation just made things ten times more confusing. What did she mean by 'him and NiGHTS?'

She knew his future as well and he guessed it wouldn't be a happy one.

"What do you have to do with me and the traitor? What is my future?" he asked. He wanted answers now more than ever. This was more confusing than anything he'd ever heard.

"That's classified information. As for your future, at this rate, it looks bad. If you can re-connect with an old friend, it could be a much happier future. This is the last bit of information I can give you before we can meet outside this vision." Old friend? What old friend did she mean? He didn't have any friends he could think it could be at the top of his head.

Plus, he was going to meet this child outside a dream one day. When would the red jester meet her? He felt like his head would explode from the multiple questions in his thoughts. "Goodbye, Reala. We will meet again when you have rejoined with your friend." The girl waved and his dream began to fade.

"Wait don't go!" It was too late. He was alone in his room once again. What was going on? He didn't understand any of this. He leaned back trying to clear his head.

_'All Nightmaren assemble in the throne room please…'_ a familiar voice boomed.

"Master Wizeman has awoken at long last." He realized with shock.

….

Lunamystica put her Persona on her face and said: "How am I supposed to get out of here now?"


	7. Chapter 7

Edited on August 14, 2012. I cleaned up and changed this chapter quite a bit. I will probably do so more in the future too.

Chapter 7

Lunamystica sat in her room. She had to think of an escape plan and fast now that Wizeman had come out of temporary death again.

She couldn't go through the halls because a Maren on the way to the god's throne room would see her. Could she try to sneak past them and head for the tower? No, she couldn't do that either. Someone would question why she went past the door.

She felt a sudden weakness. Her disguise was starting to wear off. If she didn't leave soon, someone would be sure to see her turn back into NiGHTS. She had to think quickly.

Then, she had an idea. The window of her room! Why didn't she think about it sooner? She quickly flew over and tried to burst through the glass. It did no good.

Perhaps a Drill Dash could breakthrough it. She backed up and charged at the window smashing the glass.

Someone could have heard the breaking fragments hit the ground. She had to fly out of the castle _now_!

She didn't get her chance. At that moment, Reala opened the door and stared in confusion.

"What are you doing!?" The red jester paused. "Never mind. We'll get your window fixed later," he said taking her hand to lead her to the throne room.

She squirmed and tried to break herself free. The red jester continued to try to drag her out. She couldn't seem to yank herself free.

She began to grow dizzy. Her disguise would fade away before too long. Sooner or later, Lunamystica would be gone and someone else would be there.

Reala would not be happy without a doubt. Either he would be saddened believing NiGHTS had only wanted to hurt him again or he would be furious and not care who it was.

What could she do?

Reala didn't understand what was going on in the slightest way. What was wrong with her? Had she gone crazy? Maybe that was why she broke the window and was trying to get away from him.

He felt strange. This was the same feeling he had when NiGHTS left. Why did this feel so similar?

Then he figured it out.

Lunamystica was just like the purple jester. In a different way she was almost the same. It was no wonder he grew fond of her so quickly.

"I don't want to go! Master Wizeman will be so very upset with me!" she cried continuing to try to break away. There was no doubt that Wizeman would be furious to see her.

NiGHTS would either be forced into working for him again, locked up for eternity, or killed.

She had to get out of here now that she had thought of what could happen if she didn't escape.

She used what little concentration she had left to try to separate Reala's hand from her , the other maren's grip was too strong.

The dizziness began to increase and she couldn't think clearly.

How much longer could she hold on?

She began to feel faint as she continued to try to reach the window.

"He won't be angry with you! Now come on because we can't keep Master Wizeman waiting!" He was about to drag her along with him.

She couldn't do this anymore.

Her outfit slowly transformed before his eyes. The first thing to appear was a purple jester's hat, the next was a round collar revealing a neck less body, a pink vest with star shaped buttons emerged along with a Red Ideya Shard over a white shirt, then he saw stiff, flowing, white sleeves with yellow and purple zigzagged patterned cuffs. Finally, her legs were covered in purple tights with small purple, gold, and pink boots at the bottom.

"I knew my disguise wouldn't last forever!" NiGHTS exclaimed. Her secret had been revealed at long last.

She tried to look away from him, but found herself lost in Reala's eyes. Every time she saw the icy turquoise-blue she noted a scar resembling mime markings across each distracting her from the outfit he wore.

She looked closely analyzing everything; his red jester hat had with black stripes, his purple collar, a red vest with a black shirt underneath, the skin-tight sleeves with little blue patches and matching pants and finally, his red and black wrist guards that had the same pattern as his leg guards and his red boots.

Even with all the clothes those eyes stood out more than anything else. They were now filled with fury as she stared.

"NiGHTS!? You tricked me! How could you!?" Reala yelled angrily. NiGHTS winced as he grew more cross than he was moments ago.

The guilt invaded her more than ever before. She had tricked Reala. She had caused him pain once more. She was certain he would _never_ forgive her then. It was her fault that this was happening. The crimson maren would hate her more than he already did.

"I wanted my friend back! I wanted the old Reala; the one who taught me everything! The one who cared about me. We cared for each other!" NiGHTS yelled beginning to cry. "You changed, you're not Reala anymore. Change it back. Make it all go back to the way it was!" Heavy tears streamed down the purple jester's face. The other released his grip when he had been shocked by her identity allowing her to sit on the floor and sob uncontrollably. "I want you back Reala..."

Finally, a furious version of the one she missed shouted: "That does it! You're going to see Master Wizeman _now_!" Reala used some power to put chains around NiGHTS sleeves (since she did not have wrists) and forced her to come with him down the hallway.

Those still making their way to the throne room watched as a sobbing NiGHTS in chains was led by Reala in front of them.

They reached the throne room where the Nightmaren bowed to Wizeman. Everyone turned to see the normally fun loving traitor in tears before their very eyes. They couldn't believe such a thing had happened. The rebel had returned.

Reala dropped his former partner in front of Wizeman the Wicked himself.

"Ah, Reala, it seems you made an excellent capture while I was in temporary death." Wizeman said eying NiGHTS who did not even look up. Reala bowed with one hand draped over his left knee.

"She came here of her own will, my master. It seems she did not want to be separated from me any longer," he answered. The fury in his voice was gone. The rebel thought she heard a hint of confusion in his voice. She though it was just her imagination though.

"Do you really miss Reala, NiGHTS?" Wizeman said putting his attention back on her. The reply wasn't very quick or loud.

"Yes, I miss the old Reala and _not_ this one!" she looked away. That monster, her master, practically her father smirked evilly. His six hands with an eye in each surrounded her.

"Do you want your friendship the way it was?" he asked.

"Yes, but it will never happen!" Such a thing couldn't be possible. Her's and Reala's relationship would never return.

"It can be repaired my creation." A new Persona appeared in front of NiGHTS. It had blue feathers on the ends and a small blue gem. "Put on this Persona as A symbol of loyalty towards me and your life will be as it was."

Her heart stopped beating… Was this really happening? Would things really go back to how they were? Could hers and Reala's friendship really be re-paired? Could it be brought back to life after all these years? Was it right or wrong? She felt so indecisive.

She had not experienced something like this since she first started doubting Wizeman. The truth had hit her when the shard of Red Ideya somehow embedded itself in her chest. Was that Ideya that she still possessed inside her lying about that the god couldn't be trusted?

…

"Claris, this lake is beautiful, but not as much as you are." Elliot said the two were sitting by a moonlit lake. Claris rested her head on his chest, she was so happy; she wanted this moment to last for as long as she lived. Their last night in Nightopia had put ease on both their minds since they made up. They would always be together.

"Elliot, I love you. Let's never forget this moment. We'll never forget Nightopia or NiGHTS either." They knew very soon they would wake up in their beds. Elliot would be in his bedroom with his trophies and basketball posters. Claris would be in her large room with a vanity mic stand among things.

They were happy, but they were worried they wouldn't see NiGHTS before their eyes opened in The Waking World. They wanted to see her just one more time.

Claris would sing _Dreams Dreams_ as their friend played her invisible flute. If it wasn't for that little song NiGHTS taught her, so many things wouldn't have happened. Claris re-auditioned for the concert she failed to get into the night before. She sang Dreams Dreams with her beautiful voice and got the lead role.

That song had come in handy for Elliot too. The day Elliot defeated Roger in a basketball game and managed to befriend the older boy he took a walk by a parade.

It was the 100th anniversary celebration of the founding of Twin Seeds. As he walked and stared at the floats, he came upon a poster that said, "Twin Dreams."

For a split second, he swore he saw NiGHTS in front of the poster.

Just then, he heard a song coming from inside the building the poster was on. He knew the melody very well. It was the song NiGHTS had played on her flute just before they had defeated Wizeman.

He went through the door at once. Atop the stage singing was the girl he had met in his dreams and loved at first sight. He saw her in reality for the first time and she spotted him too. It was like a match made in Heaven.

"We'll always know her as our friend and hopefully she'll always know us as her friends."

Just then, the earth began to shake. Around them, the ground rose into the skies, making thousands of floating isles. They looked down at the abyss, and found black churning water.

"What is going on!?" Claris exclaimed. The area around them had ripped apart. They stood on the pathway by the lake. The teens were on the largest of the floating islands all around them.

"I don't know what is happening, but stay close to me, Claris!" Elliot replied. Rising from the black water, was every single creature from Nightmare including Wizeman himself!

The two looked around in shock. It was an attack on Nightopia and probably the worst one Nightmare had ever led.

"Wizeman is out of temporary death! This is bad!" The girl began to tremble in fear.

"NiGHTS is probably in danger too!" Elliot said. What could have happened to the purple maren?

"She's far from danger, Visitors." Reala said appearing from behind Wizeman's robes. He had an insidious look on his face.

"What do you mean!? What happened to NiGHTS!?" The two demanded. They feared for their friend far more than themselves.

"See for yourself." From behind Wizeman like the other had appeared, was NiGHTS. A persona covered her eyes.


	8. Chapter 8

Edited on August 14, 2012. I improved and changed some things in this chapter. I will probably do so more in the future too.

Chapter 8

"NiGHTS, how could you!? I thought we were friends!" Claris shouted. She couldn't believe it. Why would NiGHTS ever think about returning to Wizeman?

She looked at the purple jester's sapphire-violet eyes barely visible behind the Persona. She didn't see that her friend was not what she seemed. She looked lost and confused. She wasn't hypnotized. She just wasn't sure what was right and what was wrong.

The pink-haired girl was very worried. The rebel (or at least the former one) was trying to make some sort of decision. Claris guessed it had to do with where her loyalties belonged.

Was she still loyal to Wizeman the Wicked or was she loyal to the two teens who had become her closest friends?

The girl remembered that NiGHTS had said she had to see somebody in Nightmare Castle. Whoever it was she had visited it wasn't Wizeman.

The maren had said this just upon waking up when she and Elliot had found her asleep. As far as she knew, the thought of returning to Nightmare didn't appear in her mind before that.

She didn't know if it was possible, but did her friend have a vision that made her seek someone out.

Claris didn't know much about residents of The Night Dimension, the place human's dreams took place, but did they have dreams enter their heads too?

This world seemed like it was out of a fantasy story or video game. In a lot of the ones she'd seen, there were things like psychic dreams called premonitions. Visions like these often told the character what they needed to do.

Maybe NiGHTS had had such a dream herself.

Claris also knew other characters in these stories were the ones who sent these mysterious dreams. Did someone make her friend to go to Nightmare Castle? If they were responsible for this, were they trying to help or hurt the maren?

"My friends are all around me!" NiGHTS said, but she did not sound so sure. She didn't understand why she returned to Nightmare. She didn't understand why she returned to serving Wizeman.

All she had wanted was to be with Reala. She knew it was wrong to betray the teens but she felt an ache in the heart without the red Nightmaren.

Even so, now that she had him, there was was another ache in her heart because something else was missing. There were three things inside her that were lost. The first two pieces were Claris and Elliot, but she couldn't identify the last piece.

A third being would be gone from her life if she didn't rebel against Wizeman again. She tried to think of the one and yet nothing came to mind. She felt this last living thing would be as important to her as Reala. Even so, she just didn't know who it was.

An eerie feeling appeared when she thought of them. This feeling was like DéjàHYPERLINK " wiki/D%C3%A9j%C3%A0_vu" HYPERLINK " wiki/D%C3%A9j%C3%A0_vu"vu. The mysterious being was someone she hadn't met yet.

She shook her thoughts away. She needed to obey Wizeman's commands. All she truly needed in the world were Wizeman and Reala. Only they could bring her true happiness.

Was she lying to herself? That couldn't be true, could it?

"NiGHTS, don't you remember their goal is to steal Ideya! Their goal is to break into our world! Their goal is to destroy everything!" Elliot yelled. The boy was in complete shock.

This was not what his friend was like. She was a cheerful, fun-loving, prankster who lived to stop Wizeman even at the cost of her own life.

That childish personality she had was nowhere to be seen. This NiGHTS was dead serious, pure adult, and looked in a way saddened.

Did the purple jester behave like this when she had served Wizeman before? Wizeman would never allow it unless she acted the way she did when he wasn't around.

Elliot recalled that the rebel told him about how she pranked Clawz by throwing the Nightmaren cat in the castle moat and turned it into a giant bubble bath.

There was no way in hell she could get away with such a thing in the god of nightmare's presence.

The dark side of NiGHTS had shown itself at last.

The boy knew somehow someway his friend didn't want to do this. Could she have been forced to return to him? No, she was too strong to be constrained to work for him again.

It couldn't have been her own will to become Wizeman the Wicked's servant again! Why had she done such a thing on purpose!

"Master Wizeman will make a better world from the rubble of yours." NiGHTS tried to assure herself again. She had to make herself believe that if she were to remain with Reala.

Even so... even so, she knew it could never be true.

Wizeman was bent on the destruction of Nightopia. After that, he would come into The Waking World to annihilate all humans. The Dimension of Day would be filled with nothing. From there, he could go to every dimension left and destroy them one by one.

Everything would be gone forever unless she rebelled again.

If she didn't do so, she could still be with Reala until everything would cease to exist. Was that really what she wanted? She wanted to save Nightopia and the universe too! She couldn't do both of those things.

She was certain Reala would never become a rebel like her. She wished more than anything she could show him the bright paradise of Nightopia for what it was and could be with him without Wizeman.

'_Someday you can be with him. That time isn't now because you must fight Wizeman!_'

NiGHTS swore she heard that young Nightmaren's voice. It must have been her imagination. She shook her head. Wizeman was her master, her creator, practically her father and so she could never turn against him.

"No, he won't NiGHTS. He will destroy you and everyone!" Claris pleaded. She had to make her friend see the truth.

The girl wanted to sing as NiGHTS played her strange invisible flute. She could never do it after tonight, but she wished she could just this one last time. The Nightopians would join in the singing with their strange but wonderful language. Elliot would listen happily and everyone would smile and laugh at the end.

Why didn't the purple jester see she was happy without Wizeman!

That was when Claris realized the truth.

Friendship wasn't the same as having a lover. How could she have never seen it before? NiGHTS was in love with Reala!

After battles with him, NiGHTS watched as he fled with an expression of great longing.

It was just like when she met Elliot. He was a popular basketball player from another school. She had watched him with the exact same face ever since she met him. They confessed their true feelings on Christmas Eve when they came to Nightopia for the second time.

Their friendship with NiGHTS wasn't as important (though it still meant almost more than anything) as their love for one another.

Their friend was in love too. She wanted happiness that a friendship couldn't give her. Claris didn't want her to lose such a thing. Nevertheless, the apocalypse would happem if they were together.

It was just like that song she had heard. _Love is War_, by Hatsune Miku, the virtual singer. The lyrics were about a love that couldn't happen because a never ending war would start.

One of the lasts lyrics of the song was "Koi wa moumoku" which literally meant "Love is blind." The song fit NiGHTS perfectly. She just couldn't surrender her feelings for Reala even if they would create a mess of a world.

"NiGHTS, there is no time for this. Prepare to destroy this place!" Wizeman boomed. She did as instructed. Her cat-like eyes held back tears of sadness and pain for what she would do.

She would destroy this Nightopia, (which would later become known as "The Dream Gate,") purely because she loved Reala and for no other reason. All she wanted was him or so she tried to force herself to believe.

She had to make herself loyal to her master. If she obeyed his every command, she could be with her lover. It still wasn't enough.

"Yes, Master Wizeman. I apologize." What could Claris and Elliot do? The Nightmaren began to tear apart the new Nightopia. They ripped apart the statues and broke things all over. A large fountain was partially smashed and the beautiful cobblestone pathway was ripped apart.

Every single Nightopian in sight fled into the doors. The two watched as NiGHTS and Reala seemed to be calling the shots under Wizeman.

"Could this be what NiGHTS job was? Was she a commander?" NiGHTS was one of the only two First Level Nightmaren. The sole other one in existence was Reala himself.

The former rebel almost never spoke about her life in Nightmare.

From the little they knew, they had pieced together that their friend and Reala were Wizeman's rights hands and loyal servants. They led all the evil plans Wizeman put together.

The two strongest Nightmaren combined were so much more dangerous than one standing (or rather flying) alone. If both of them were under the god of nightmare's control, the world's end could occur twice, make that a hundred times as quickly!

"She is a First Level Nightmaren. We should have known this from the start." Elliot and Claris looked at NiGHTS again. Her eyes looked so indecisive.

"She seems to know this is wrong but is trying to prove herself otherwise," The girl said sadly. She looked ready to cry. Her friend's heart was in pain unlike anything she'd ever felt before.

Elliot sat and glared at Wizeman, back to Reala, and finally he gave a sad look at their ally who ignored them.

This was just like how she had told them about how she rebelled. She had begun to doubt Wizeman. She wasn't sure if what he was really doing was meant to happen or not. This made her wonder how many things she'd done were wrong. She began to be driven out of her skull wondering if she should rebel or not.

The truth finally hit her when she came upon a Red Ideya. When she touched it, the orb sunk into her chest and became a red jewel. Slowly her mind was altered and the crystal put new thoughts in her mind that gave her the answers she needed.

"Claris, didn't NiGHTS say she had been indecisive about rebelling?" the boy asked. She must have also remembered what they had learned about her past. This was a slightly similar situation. Perhaps by thinking about it they could find a way to help NiGHTS.

"Yes, she said she didn't know right from wrong at all." Claris remembered. She had instantly caught on to Elliot's idea. They needed to think as one to stop the madness around them.

"I wonder why she figured out the truth. It's so strange that she changed entirely after one Ideya entered her chest," he thought out loud. The powers of Ideya were a gigantic mystery to both of them.

Elliot's sociology class gave him a slightly better understanding of it. There was a lesson on the structural model of one's concious. This included The Ego, The Super Ego and The Id. He learned The Id was one's sense of right and wrong through common sense.

If you added the suffix "eya" to its name, it became Ideya.

In The Night Dimension, a human's Id became the five lights of ideya and allowed them to dream.

These orbs were created from human hearts and brought forth Nightopia. The heart and mind of a human held more power than anything in the universe. This was the entire reason Ideya was so strong.

Wizeman created The Nightmaren to steal this powerful energy.

A human without their heart could not create a Nightopia because their very soul was the reason it existed.

If Wizeman stole every Ideya there was, Nightopia would cease to exist.

"Yeah, we've had our Ideya our whole lives and nothing happened to us at all," Claris replied. Humans had their spirits from birth until death (unless a Nightmaren stole it). The strength of their Ideya never made alterations to their state of being other than the rare occasion it allowed its owner to see The Dream World for what it really was.

"That is true, but NiGHTS isn't a human, she's not even close to one." Why hadn't they thought of that answer earlier?

Their friend was created using strong powers and though she had arms, legs, hands, and a head she still didn't even look like a person. Her head was round and if she were to take off her hat, (which was so rare it was almost unheard of) you would see her long golden hair and the fact she lacked ears.

Her eyes were enormous, long and cat-like and she had no nose. Her mouth was like a simple line when it closed and if she opened it very wide you could see fangs. NiGHTS had no neck and her head floated above her body. She was so thin and shapely it was completely in-human. She had arms but she lacked wrists and her hands floated in front of where they were supposed to be.

inally, her feet were enormous in-comparison to humans. If she looked that much different their species, she must be that different too.

An Ideya was something that a Nightmaren could never be born with. It just wasn't something they were meant to possess.

The effects of The Red Ideya, The Ideya of Courage, by far the strongest of the five had changed NiGHTS more than anything. The only one that could come close in strength was The Yellow Ideya, The Ideya of Hope. Even this heart piece still wasn't nearly as strong as Courage.

"But she is not one of them either." She would never be like her own kind. Unless there were other Nightmaren that betrayed Wizeman, there would still be no one like herself. She was one of a kind which must have been very lonely. Even with Claris and Elliot for company and friends, it wasn't like being with someone you have things in common with.

"We should have known. Wait just a minute! I have an idea!" Claris exclaimed. Thinking about how The Ideya altered NiGHTS gave her a plan.

Elliot was very curious as to what she had up her sleeve. Maybe it was something that could work depending on what it was.

"What is it; what can we do?" he asked. He looked ready to try anything if they could snap their friend back to reality.

The tone his girlfriend had spoken with sounded a bit worried. What was she thinking about now that she had an idea?

"If we embed our Ideya of Courage in NiGHTS, she just might snap back to reality." Claris said. More Red Ideya may have a stronger influence on her than just the one in her chest. The power of good dream energy may be strong enough to give NiGHTS the will to turn on Wizeman. She could be capable of fighting Wizeman even if she couldn't be at Reala's side.

"Are you crazy? If we did do that we would be sentenced to eternal nightmares!" Elliot protested. He didn't want to have Nightmare's all night and every night. He was certain he would be driven to insanity with those horrible visions filling his head.

"Well that will happen anyway according to that talking Owl! If it happens the other way, the Nightmaren will have stolen our Ideya without us having the ability to fight back. Wouldn't you rather NiGHTS possess it and not them?" Claris stated. She had a point. Red Ideya was better off used for good purposes and not evil ones.

"I guess you're right... So, how can we get our Ideya in her?" Elliot looked up. The one in question was still giving orders to the other Nightmaren and looking pale from the shock of her actions.

"I have a very risky idea and I certainly hope it works." A reckless idea might have been the reason the girl was so worried.

"As long as it isn't deadly, I'll try it." He was willing to do anything as long as he and Claris remained alive. Death wasn't worth this, but they still had to stop the situation that lay before them.

"It is not exactly deadly however it's probably a bit shaking. Basically we are going to try to get NiGHTS to steal our Red Ideya." Only NiGHTS could steal Red Ideya. It was genius! If they could lure the Nightmaren, she could try to take it from them giving the teens the opportunity to embed the orbs in her body.

"You mean we have to throw our Ideya at her when she gets close. I understand." It was simple even though they could still get hurt. They would either have to fight or run from the rebel until they had the opportunity to put the fragments of their hearts in her body. "Let's try it! Hey NiGHTS! Over here! Look this way! I bet you can't steal our last Ideya!" Elliot shouted. When it came to things like this, he was a terrible actor. If they needed to get an enemy's attention with a lie, Claris and NiGHTS usually had to find a way to shut the boy up so he wouldn't ruin it.

One time, they had to stuff a big flower in his mouth and tie him up with vines in Mystic Forest. You can guess how angry he was after they set freed him. Even after all this time, that hadn't changed one bit. The girl sighed and resisted the urge to face-palm.

"Should I retrieve the Ideya, Master Wizeman?" NiGHTS questioned her master because Elliot's stupidity could get anyones attention.

"Hmm they seem to be up to something, but I suggest you go anyway, Red Ideya does not come around often," Wizeman said. He had to say yes so she shouldn't have asked.

Rule 21 for his Nightmaren was, "If you see even one Ideya take it no matter what the cost." Claris decided since this was probably the last time they would do something like this, she would join in with the bad acting.

"Come on, NiGHTS. We're waiting. There's no way you can steal it!" Claris shouted. '_We sound like little kids,_' she thought. If they got the chance to talk to the purple jester one more time after this, she would probably find some humor in the drama they were putting on.

No matter how embarrassing for them it would be, NiGHTS's sense of humor and laughter was one of the best things in the world. She truly was adult and serious, but at times she was very childish. Even though she'd been alive maybe even three times as many years as the average human, even Elliot could be more mature than her at times. It was almost like she was a younger sibling.

"Alright. I'm going to go." The maren herself began to fly off.

She felt feint at the thought of stealing her closest friend's Ideya, but she didn't have a choice. This would be the chance to prove herself to Wizeman. If she showed weakness and refused to take a Visitor's Ideya, she would be locked up in a cell or killed. She had to be where Reala was and this was her final test.

"Wait, NiGHTS. Are you sure about this?" She turned around to see Reala. Care was in his eyes, and yet they also held a seriousness that was concerning. He may have thought that she couldn't handle stealing Ideya from the two dreamers. She couldn't be certain, but he seemed worried she would abandon him once again.

"Yes, I'm sure whatever they pull, I can handle it without a doubt." Reala looked worried but even so, he let her go.

NiGHTS flew down ready to grab the red orbs but Claris and Elliot ran away from her. They ran along a path by a rock wall on the floating island.

Soon the three couldn't see the other Nightmaren and Wizeman anymore.

They passed what looked like a mine and kept running. Very soon, they couldn't run any farther because they'd reached the edge of a narrow cliff and were cornered! Elliot and Claris stopped at the edge and looked over the bottom. They had to embed their Red Ideya in their friend NOW.

"Throw our Ideya at three, two, one, go!" NiGHTS flew up ready to grab their Ideya when Claris and Elliot threw it at her hands where they sunk into her skin.

The shards burned and she fell over knocking Claris and Elliot off the cliff!

NiGHTS closed her eyes as tears appeared alongside thr pain her hands and because one other reason; a reason she could not put her finger on.

Finally, the truth hit her hard. '_My real friends have been with me all along!' _

NiGHTS couldn't fly because her hands hurt too much to give off Twinkle Dust. All she could do was sob uncontrollably.


	9. Chapter 9

Edited on August 14, 2012. I've cleaned up this chapter quite a bit and will do so more in the future too.

9 A Dream of A New Beginning

Claris and Elliot continued to fall after NiGHTS accidentally knocked the teens off the cliff. The two attempted to reach for each others hands. The kids struggled forward and the wind around them made it hard to breathe.

They didn't know how long it would be before they hit the churning black water below them but they guessed swimming wouldn't work.

Even though they were human, they could sense an evil aura in that ocean. Their best guess as to what would happen when they fell in it, was that their souls would be ripped apart.

Elliot tried to get closer to Claris and reach for her hand but the strong sea winds blew him away again. He wanted to hold her in his arms just one last time. How long would it be before the hearts would vanish in the blackness?

They guessed they had a few minutes left but it wouldn't be in time for them to wake up. If a Visitor's soul was destroyed in The Night Dimension, or they were killed, their body in The Waking World would be put in an eternal coma.

They would be forced to wander around in the darkness for the rest of their lives. If that happened, they wouldn't even be separated at different colleges. Elliot wouldn't go to Twin Seeds Collage and Claris would never attend Bellbridge University. The boy wouldn't become a famous basketball player and his lover would never be a professional singer. Their dreams were gone forever.

"We saved NiGHTS, but now we're in even more trouble!" Claris shouted trying to find a way to reach Elliot. The wind whipped her pink hair into her eyes and she could barely see her boyfriend anymore.

"We're heading right for the black water!" Elliot shouted reaching for Claris. They were getting closer but there were only a few seconds left. They had to take each others hands, they had to!

Something told them they had to keep trying. Without their Red Ideya, which had been embedded in NiGHTS hands, they couldn't fly away from their death. Was there another way or were they doomed?

Appearing from nowhere was a mysterious yellow Nightmaren.

The two noticed her face resembled NiGHTS's almost perfectly. The eye color was the only difference and her voice, though it was British accented like hers too, was a much higher pitch and far more childish.

She was very small and they realized she was a child! According to the only good Nightmaren they knew, such a thing never existed. Where did this little girl come from? She grabbed both their hands and brought them together.

"Who are you?!" Elliot asked in shock. Her fingers glowed with gold light and two teens levitated. She had saved their lives!

"My name is Moonlight. Don't worry, I'll wake you up!" she said. How could a Nightmaren awaken a human? The only things that sent a dreamer from The Night Dimension were The Egg Alarm Clock (one of the strangest things in this place) and Awakers which were creatures that didn't come from Nightopia or Nightmare. "My levitation spell won't last long enough to put you on solid ground and I don't have the ability to Dualize."

There had to be a way to get out of there and back to NiGHTS just long enough to say goodbye. Would they never see the purple jester again?

"You can't!" Claris pleaded. She wanted to see her friend just one last time. Moonlight had to be bluffing about there being no time. This girl must be one of Wizeman's creations. She was trying to trick them so she could get rid of them and then defeat the only rebel Nightmaren. All she wanted was to please her master.

She closed her rosy eyes. She was lying to herself. The yellow jester meant them no harm whatsoever. Even though she was smiling, her eyes were filled with sadness. Moonlight wished that she could help them reach their friend. Nevertheless, she couldn't do so.

She looked at them in an emphatic way. They guessed that she too must have been separated from a friend in some way.

"Even if I could get you to NiGHTS, it wouldn't be safe. Wizeman and the other Nightmaren will try to capture her again. When that happens, I will have to save her and you cannot help me." She told them that their friend was in danger! Now the teens wanted to save NiGHTS more than ever.

The child shook her head to say: "You can't." Elliot bit back a yell of anger and Claris fought away tears of regret. They would never see the purple jester again. They would never fly with NiGHTS again. They would never even hear of NiGHTS again.

In a moment, they would be normal teenagers once again. They would have everyday lives and hoped one day once again their dreams would come true.

"There is someone special in your future. They too will dream like this and you will love them as much as you do each other. Live each day to its fullest and through this person you will meet NiGHTS once again." Moonlight knew their future too! Just what did she mean by someone they would meet in the future? "That person is to you what I am to NiGHTS." The confusion they held grew stronger than ever. Was the yellow Nightmaren from the future too?

"Who are you, Moonlight and how do you know all this?" Elliot demanded. Nightmaren or not a little kid shouldn't have known as much as she did. He didn't know a lot but she looked no younger than eight years-old and not any older than nine. It was as if she was trying to take NiGHTS place which angered him. "Why are you acting just like NiGHTS!?"

"Have you ever heard the phrase, 'The apple doesn't fall far from the tree?' I will never serve Wizeman. He didn't even create me, and I was not born from darkness, as some other Nightmaren are." He had heard that phrase very often. He usually ignored it and thus, he didn't understand the meaning of the statement.

On the other hand, Claris was filled with shock because she understood Moonlight perfectly. She thought of the person that the young maren mentioned would be in their future. She managed to not cover her mouth or cry out in shock. The girl knew what awaited herself and Elliot someday. She was so surprised and happy. Her lover didn't understand but one day he would.

They _did _have a future together and it would be very special. If only it wasn't so long away; Wait a minute. It just might be sooner than she thought. They would just have to live day by day before it could happen. The time would come for all that to happen and she knew it.

"What do you mean by that. Where do you come from?" Elliot asked. Claris held back a laugh at his boyish trait of being dense.

It seemed something nice awaited NiGHTS as well and he didn't understand. They didn't have to worry about her after all. The girl didn't know when it would happen but her friend would be just fine. She would have a happy life someday. Claris hoped that the purple jester's time for happiness would come very soon.

"I'll tell you later, Elliot." She would explain about Moonlight for him but she wasn't comfortable telling him about the part that involved them.

He could figure it out on his own no matter how long it took. One day he would understand everything perfectly.

The girl noticed the negativity in the yellow jester's eyes again. She wondered if even though what she knew would happen to NiGHTS in the future was good, there would be some troubling things as well. Perhaps there was a very serious reason Moonlight had come to the past.

"Its time to send you two back to The Waking World. I wish you good luck." The child began to focus her power causing Claris's and Elliot's bodies to become transparent. Every time they were about to wake up from their trips to the Night Dimension, they would slowly vanished into thin air just like this.

She truly was capable of sending them back home. She held mysterious power and insight that hadn't existed in any other Nightmaren they met. She was different than the other Nightmaren, NiGHTS included. She wasn't any stronger or any weaker but she was unique in some way.

"Let us stay here, Moonlight!" Elliot pleaded. He wasn't ready to return to a normal life yet. He wanted to see the strange and wonderful Nightopia one last time. He could go for a swim in Splash Garden or snow board in Frozen Belle. He wanted to do all these things with NiGHTS and Claris forever.

His girlfriend shook her head to make him stop protesting. "Elliot, you know we can't." Would he just have to live without ever going back there? The boy didn't want to leave Nightopia forever.

He looked into the rose colored eyes of his lover. She was right. They were never coming back.

Though something told him in a way they would return but not as themselves. This strange feeling made him wonder how he knew they would come back. The bigger question was when would they return here?

"Wait. Can you do just one thing for us?" There was one item the two wanted. Moonlight could at least grant their last wish they could make come true here. She promised and they vanished.

…

NiGHTS looked at her hands; a red gem shone in each.

How could she have let Claris and Elliot fall into that black water? Now their souls were ripped apart and she would never see either of them again.

She couldn't fly down to save them because when the Ideya of Courage pierced her hands, they temporarily couldn't give off enough Twinkle Dust for her to fly.

Tears flooded her face as she cried like mad. She closed her eyes, but she just couldn't stop crying.

The burning pain was worse than anything she'd ever felt. The Ideya shards no longer hurt, but she still felt the ache. A different kind… Her heart ached with sorrow…

She had lost Reala and she'd lost Claris and Elliot. She had no one left to lose. She felt lonely as she sobbed. It was not fair. "I'm so useless! Every time I have a friend, due to my own stupidity I lose them! I am the worst thing in existence!" She balled her hand into a fist and punched a boulder. Blood seeped from her hand and hit the cobblestone floor. Her hand didn't hurt as much as her spirit. "What's wrong with me!?"

"It is simple. You are another useless creation, NiGHTS." She looked around upon hearing the loud voice. Things were about to get worse if Wizeman was going to come here. Speaking of which, he had arrived with Reala right behind him.

The red jester had a look of disappointment on his face. Nevertheless, his expression quickly turned into a look of anger, disgust, and finally pure hatred.

NiGHTS stared because she did not know how to respond. She backed up against the wall but she was still crying in shock. She was so upset about losing her friends escaping wasn't on her mind.

Wizeman gave the signal and Reala restrained her. She didn't fight back and simply let him hold her uncomfortably.

"Master Wizeman what shall we do with the traitor? It seems she will never return to Nightmare." Reala stated. His mind was somewhere else at the moment but he still obeyed his master.

Somehow he felt the feeling of guilt, Did he want to let NiGHTS escape? No, he couldn't let her go.

The red jester's thoughts were arguing with each other as always. Every thought that had to do with the other first level Nightmaren had another one to disapprove of it. Why couldn't he just pick a decision!?

"It seems the Red Ideya altered her mind, I can not remove the shards from her body but I can change her back to normal," Wizeman said analyzing NiGHTS again with one of his six eyed-hands. He began to try to pull The Red Ideya's powers from her body.

Somehow he felt some sort of resistance to his powers. She was fighting to keep the Red Ideya's powers!

"DON'T! I'd rather die than go back to working for you!" NiGHTS yelled getting a hold on herself. Somehow the Ideya of Courage had finally begun to take its effects and restore her rebellious personality.

Although they didn't know it, Claris's and Elliot's plans had worked!

With her fighting spirit back in her hands, literally, she tried to get out of Reala's grasp. Even so, he was still too strong... her doubt quickly returned.

"If that is what you wish, so be it." Wizeman began to create an enormous orb of power. Reala let go of NiGHTS and moved out of its way behind Wizeman.

What had she been thinking? Now she was going to die whether she liked it or not. She shielded her eyes from the power that was slowly being prepared to take her life.

That was when a bright light appeared from above. The golden aurora filled the skies.

She swore she saw her master shudder and his orb of power vanished. To her utmost shock, Wizeman fled because somehow the light was painful to him. Reala followed close behind his master. Could this light have hurt him as well?

She looked at the sky. How could something so beautiful hurt them? It hadn't bothered her in any way which confused her even more. "This light it saved me?" Where had it come from?

Somehow she had seen this light somewhere else.

"This just like my vision! I am certain of it!" she exclaimed. In that mysterious vision there hadn't been a sky but an aurora just like this was everywhere. "Could that yellow Nightmaren… could she be behind this all?" She'd only seen the little maren in that vision. Could she actually exist outside NiGHTS conscious.

"Yes I am responsible for this light. You finally figured out I have been helping you right?" she giggled. The yellow jester flew down and landed in front of NiGHTS. She held out her hand to help her up.

The older maren got off the ground and was now filled with curiosity about the mysterious child.

"So are you going to tell me what's going on now?" NiGHTS asked. This time, the kid had to give her more answers. If she didn't explain herself, the older maren thought her head would explode.

"Sorry that's classified information," she put her finger to her mouth and smiled innocently yet again. NiGHTS's trademark smirk of amusement was stolen.

She shook her head. The true reason was because their facial features were so eerily similar, if she smirked, of course it wouldn't look any different. "You don't need to worry about the Visitors; I saved them and sent them home."

Claris and Elliot were alive! She wanted to thank the small Nightmaren for saving them but she was at a loss for words. "They said to tell you 'We will never forget you NiGHTS'. They are going to miss you as much as you will miss them. One day, I'm certain you will meet again, the method will be a big surprise though." She was right all along. Claris and Elliot's time to become adults had arrived. She was sad and happy for the teens at the same time.

Even if she wouldn't see them for quite some time, somehow she knew they would return. It wouldn't truly be them but in a way their spirits would live on in the one who came to Nightopia after them.

"Within three years, two more Visitors shall become your friends. Shortly after that, you can see someone again, and the anger he holds for you will be erased."

"Who are you talking about, and how do you know all this?" NiGHTS questioned again. Now she was more confused than ever. This little girl knew so much and she wanted to know why..

"I already told you that I'm from the future. I know all about your past." Now she understood a little bit more. If this girl was from the future, someone must have told her all about the past and what had happened there. She guessed she would meet the child again someday somewhere far away.

"I have to leave you on your own now, but don't lose heart. Friendships and love always comes back if you believe they will with all your heart." Before NiGHTS could respond, the Nightmaren vanished.

However her voice echoed through the sky.

'_We will meet again when the time is right. I'll make sure your future is full of joy.'_

Would the two rebels see each other again? The purple maren would just have to wait and find out for herself.

NiGHTS dried her eyes and looked at the aurora before it faded away., "Thank you, little one. I won't give in." Something told her she should stay in this part of Nightopia. Everything would begin from here once again. "This is the entrance to where dreams come true. This is The Dream Gate."

…

"Reala, the mysterious gold light seemed to protect NiGHTS, but it has vanished." Wizeman and Reala had returned to Nightmare Castle after their escape. Now the god was discussing what they witnessed because of how serious the event was. Something big was happening and even The Lord of All Nightmares didn't understand the reason.

"Yes, my master but I do not know why." Reala didn't know anything about the event whatsoever. He was sure that it had something to do with that mysterious vision.

The little girl in it had mentioned she had not only something to do with himself but NiGHTS as well. Did that mean that his rival had seen those visions too?

"I am aware of that. The light belonged to a Nightmaren. However, I had not created this one; I do not know where it came from. This Maren is unusual. Their power is equal to that of a First Level Nightmaren like you but there's something different about them." Reala had never heard of such an enigma of a Nightmaren.

He thought of the vision again. No, it couldn't be her. Since when could someone so small manage such an amazing skills?

"Yes my master. I understand perfectly." He didn't understand but he wanted to learn more about what was going on.

"We must figure out whom and where the mysterious Nightmaren is. It may take many years. In the meantime, I want as much Ideya as possible. It must be gathered faster than it is now." It looked like the seriousness of the matter was worse than he thought. Wizeman had something planned that was far more serious than unusual.

"Yes, my Master. We shall work faster than ever." Somehow he felt a hint of doubt again. Was taking Ideya from humans right or wrong? Was this how NiGHTS felt before she rebelled? He waved the thought away. He would never rebel. _'Could that vision have anything to do with this? Who was that tiny Nightmaren? I will find out no matter what and I will destroy NiGHTS for ripping my heart out twice. Be prepared, for the worst, traitor.'_


End file.
